For our first set of tests, we heavily infected our testing PCs with numerous malware samples (including viruses, rogueware, adware, trojans, and more), then activated AVG Internet Security and ran a full scan to see how well it would do at finding and removing our embedded malware samples.

For the most part, AVG did well.

No malware ran on reboot on any of the test PCs, and nothing was lurking in the background. This is an impressive feat by any measure.

However, our testing browsers were still hijacked by adware, and in each case desktop shortcuts for malware remained (even though they were inactive.)

It's a great performance in terms of threat removal but a poor one in terms of perceived threat removal. How do you grade that?

On one hand, we'd like to give them high marks for getting rid of the threats, but if most people will believe the threats still exist, you've missed the mark.

AVG did a great job blocking nearly all threats outright and deleting nearly everything else.

A few annoying adware samples got through, but after we rebooted, nearly everything was gone and our testing PCs were good as new.

Although imperfect, it was still impressive.

Now for concerning part: antiphishing.

Most Internet Security software will at least block some obvious phishing sites. Many block most or even all phishing threats.

AVG missed every. single. one. 100% failure.

Since this seems like an operator error, we double- then triple-checked on different PCs with different OSes. In each instance AVG said our web links were fully protected, and there were no other options to turn on "more" protection. Nothing. 100% failure.

We even went a step further and tested some very older phishing links that every antivirus software (and every competitor) should recognize by now. Nope. AVG missed 'em all.

So, AVG's while malware removal proved its merit, and its real-time antivirus protection ended up being very effective, and its antiphishing was terrible.

Firewall Protection: 69%

A good firewall is your best line of defense against threats to your PC. Think of it like a guard at a gate: only trusted people get in and out. Everyone else is turned away.

AVG Internet Security was one of the heavier Internet Security suites we tested this year. When running idle, there was minimal system drag, but when running a full scan, AVG used nearly 14% of our computer resources. We noticed a slight drag when performing routine operations like web surfing and file downloading.

Boot-up time was fast, however, taking only a few more seconds when compared to a PC without AVG protection.

User Interface: 89%

Click images to enlarge

For the most part, AVG's user interface is good and easy to use. There are clearly labeled buttons for each section you may need to go into.

And, thankfully, unlike some competitors who've chosen to go the route of having stylishly tiny text, AVG has kept things well-sized and readable.

Every major area is marked with a green or red color to show if it's working correctly or not. It's a helpful feature we like.

There are advanced settings if you need them, and even those are well labeled and usable. (Most people won't need to delve into these parts of the software; those that do will find them easy to use.)

In the end, some might say the user interface for AVG Internet Security is a little dark and not very inspiring, but it gets the job done. We like it.

Technical Support: 70%

Aside from its antiphishing performance, AVG's technical support is its weakest part.

Their support page consists of a searchable knowledgebase but lacks any easy email, chat, or phone options to contact them.

After searching, the first thing you'll likely come across, as we did, is for virus removal help for $79.

Dig around some more and you'll likely see a form. Complete the form, and you're rewarded with a phone number.

Why AVG doesn't just print the phone number and make it less of a hassle for their paying customers is a mystery.

Compared to the excellent, easy-to-access tech support from VIPRE and ESET, AVG's shortcomings here are self-evident.

AVG has typically been an well-regarded Internet Security software, and this year is no different in most ways. Malware and virus protection was good, but its antiphishing can only be described as, "bad."

So, in spite of a well-thought interface and good malware and virus protection and removal scores, its score is dragged down by its failure in antiphishing and a mediocre firewall.

If you're a fan of AVG and have used it in the past, its good interface and good scores against viruses, it's worth considering as long as you're not relying on it its firewall or antiphishing filter.